Licensed Clinical Psychologist, PSY19824

Anxiety Therapy in Oakland & San Francisco

AS A THERAPIST WHO TREATS ANXIETY

Whether you are suffering from too much stress, or are crippled by a fears that make it difficult to function at work or in your social life, I offer effective, compassionate, creative anxiety therapy to help to ease your suffering.

I understand how anxiety can hold back expressions of your true self. Through the safety, compassion, connection, and insight of the therapeutic process, you can deepen your understanding of the source of your anxiety and free yourself to express more of your authenticity and uniqueness. With anxiety therapy treatment, you can feel much more calm, in control, and even joyful.

I offer insights, associations, and interpretations that can provide relief from your suffering and help you believe that you are not alone in your suffering. It is my highest priority to find a way to connect with you and make sure you that you feel that I am with you in your struggles. All progress, and healing stems from the trust that I am able to earn from you. Since therapy is an art as much as it is a science, I have a unique relationship with everyone I work with, and thoroughly enjoy the creative process of learning how to connect with each and every client.

You can be reassured that you are receiving highly effective treatment, since I also incorporate empirically relevant scientific findings into my work with clients. I utilize my theoretical background, my past clinical experience and life experience, as well as my emotional experience of you as the client in my presence. I offer therapy for anxiety related to PTSD, social anxiety and trauma.

What is Anxiety

Most people think of anxiety as the feeling we have when confronted with something very scary, like public speaking, or jumping out of an airplane. Anxiety is much more pervasive in all of our lives than this, however. It is a fundamental aspect of our everyday experience. It is also referred to as stress, fear, worry, or panic. These are all simply different levels of anxiety.

Because everyone feels it, many times every day, anxiety is NORMAL. However, just because something is normal doesn’t mean it can’t be reduced. Anxiety is an uncomfortable experience that is coded within us to keep us away from danger and pain. However, too much anxiety keeps us from being able to feel happy.

WE CAN FEEL ANXIETY WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT. Many people say they are stressed out, but if you asked them if they are worried, they might say no. This happens for many reasons. Often, people are so used to their anxieties that they don’t even notice them, and only notice that they are tired, irritable, and have frequent, “what if” thoughts, like “what if I lose my job” or “what if my boss gets angry at me.” If we explored such a person’s experience, we would uncover worries below the surface.

We might discover, for example, that he is worried that if his boss disapproves of his work, then he will feel worthless, or that if he loses his job, not only will he have to find another job, but he will be destitute and abandoned by the world. Often, these anxieties don’t make sense to our conscious mind when they are revealed, but we often live as though they ARE true without even knowing it. This is because our anxiety often get locked away, often at an early age, without us even trying to do so.

This is where therapy comes in. There are often fairly elaborate systems of such feelings and beliefs that cause a great deal more stress than we need. By understanding these systems and unlocking them, we can break the patterns and relieve the stress. When this happens, patients always report that a tremendous burden has been lifted that they didn’t even know was there, and that they have more energy and enthusiasm for their life, work, and relationships. As you can see, if you read my article on depression, anxiety and depression are also closely linked.